Hospital chiefs spend whopping £1.2m on more than 5,000 trendy bladeless Dyson fans
The splurge is part of a £1,435,432 fortune spent by trusts across England on the firm’s notoriously pricey products
HOSPITAL chiefs have racked up a £1.2million bill buying 5,133 of Dyson’s trendy bladeless fans instead of ones costing a tenth as much.
The splurge is part of a £1,435,432 fortune spent by trusts across England on the firm’s notoriously pricey products.
The rest has gone on luxury vacuums and hand dryers — after rival versions at a fraction of the price were spurned.
One NHS trust that paid £719.98 for two of the fans got them from John Lewis, a probe by The Sun found.
MPs were outraged by the revelation. Tory Philip Davies said: “It is vital the NHS spends taxpayers’ money wisely.
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“Going shopping for things at John Lewis is unlikely to be the most efficient way of doing things.”
Lib Dem Norman Lamb said the NHS should be making “every penny count”.
He said: “That means clever buying – not buying at John Lewis.” The Dyson bill was exposed by a freedom of information request to England’s 236 hospital trusts. Sixteen did not respond.
Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in the West Midlands spent most on Dyson products — £111,283.93. Of that, £109,615 was on 358 fans.
Dyson’s top model costs £350. An Argos version is just £29.99.
Jimmy Weldon, 62, whose mum died ignored by nurses at one the trust’s hospitals, said: “I’m appalled. Whoever authorised this spending should be sacked on the spot.”
The fans from John Lewis were bought by North Bristol NHS Trust.
The £1.4million spent in total on Dyson gear over the past five years would pay for 65 nurses. The TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “It is hard to stomach.”
A Dyson spokesman said: "Many of these machines are actually purifiers, certified to capture small particles and airborne virus such as ecoli – which other fans simply can't.
"The technology is increasing being adopted by people with asthma and allergies as they suffer daily from the effects of poor indoor air quality."